Psychology and Mental Health Workshops
Our workshops focus on investigating challenging questions in the field of Psychology and Mental Health Studies. Each workshop uses lectures, activities and discussions to explore psychology as an academic discipline and confront misconceptions about mental health and mental illness.
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Not only do our workshops give students a taster of what it's like to study Psychology at a top university, they also improve mental health literacy and encourage students to seek mental health support when needed.
What is Perfect Mental Health?
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This workshop involves students responding to fundamental questions about what ‘perfect’ mental health might look like. Students learn about different perspectives of mental health by reading scientific papers and learning about the 'Mad Pride Movement' to define what perfect mental health means to them.
Is Social Media Good for your Mental Health?
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This workshop begins with students reflecting on their social media feeds, before learning about the relationship between social media use and life satisfaction, as well as “Internet Addiction” as a mental health condition. Finally, students consider how social media may be good for your mental health by considering papers discussing education, community and self-expression.
What is to Blame for Bad Mental Health?
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During this workshop students explore why bad mental health is on the rise in the western world. They analyse and critique explanations of stress such as the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, Diathesis-Stress Model and the biopsychosocial model of health, to decide what is to blame for bad mental health.
Where in the World is Mental Health?
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This workshop explores the epidemiology of mental health conditions, including why anxiety disorders are ‘more prevalent’ in more economically developed countries. Students focus on Anxiety Disorders and why their diagnostic criteria according to the DSM-V may not be suitable for every person in every country. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.
Does a Smile a Day Keep Your Worries Away?
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This workshop invites students to examine the phrase ‘a smile a day keeps your worries away’. Students explore the facial feedback hypothesis and conduct their own version of a famous experiment. Students discuss a replication of the classic facial feedback hypothesis study and consider other experimental findings to decide whether a smile a day really keeps your worries away.
Is there a Cure for Mental Illness?
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This workshop focusses on whether there is a cure for mental illness by exploring anxiety and the various therapies that can be used to treat it. Students consider Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), CBT Behavioural Experiments and Exposure Therapy (Habituation) to decide whether there is a cure for mental illness.